Leading doctor calls for fresh look at drug laws

The government should look again at the country's drug laws and consider decriminalising substances such as heroin, a leading doctor has said.

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, former president of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), said that there was a strong case for regulating illicit drugs instead of maintaining a blanket ban.

He argued that the UK should 'try a different approach' and reconsider its laws, 'with a view to decriminalising illicit drugs use'.

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'There's a lot of evidence that the total prohibition of drugs, making them totally illicit and unavailable, has not been successful at reducing not only the health burden, but also the impact on crime,' Sir Ian told the Press Association.

'I'm not saying we should make heroin available to everyone, but we should be treating it as a health issue rather than criminalising people.'

The medic cited evidence showing that decriminalising heroin or other drugs 'doesn't increase the number of drug users' and that the move could help people with addiction problems, rather than merely putting them in prison.

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Responding to recent comments made by MP Keith Vaz, who claimed that the legalisation of drugs would create an impression that these substances are not harmful, Sir Ian conceded that this risk should be taken seriously.

However, he added: 'I don't think anybody thinks heroin is not harmful, far from it.'

The RCP issued a statement in response to its former president's comments, noting that there are 'no easy answers' to the problem of drug misuse.

The college also noted that a joint report with the Royal College of Psychiatrists, published in 2000, found that three-quarters of the UK's expenditure on drug-related problems is spent on enforcement and international supply reduction, despite 'little evidence' that this approach works.

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